Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Those four minutes do not count because Senator Dolan does not get any periods so we will go with eight minutes for me. I was delighted to let Senator Dolan go first. As we can see, there is a lack of men in the room today apart from Senator Warfield so it is important to have men who are willing to come in and have those conversations. Those euphemisms were created to avoid having to talk in front of men. From having conversations with my own friends about this motion, we found ourselves in fits of laughter about some of those euphemisms we have used over the years such as being in your flowers. A new one I heard yesterday is the commies are in the garden. Another example is the reds are playing at home this weekend. I thought that whatever about period poverty, we were definitely very creative in trying to hide the conversation from other people in a room.

I completely support this motion and its intent. I think mostly of homeless women with whom I have worked over the years. Even though many of the services in which I worked tried to provide sanitary products, there were many occasions where women made sanitary products themselves and ended up in hospital with really bad infections. I remember one woman making a sanitary product out of a stocking and being admitted to hospital for a good few days for surgery to save her life because the infection had spread. I remember that as one of the stark moments showing the desperation women face. It could have been because she was too embarrassed to come down and ask one of us for sanitary products and we were women working in the office. Having access to free sanitary products can save lives, never mind avoiding embarrassment. If we even look at the machines that exist in Leinster House, it involves paying €2 for one tampon or pad. That is the same across every single one of those machines in every building and institutions such as educational institutions. People are capitalising on that crisis moment where a woman needs to enter a bathroom to use a machine to charge her that amount of money. Even as a 34-year-old woman, I can still find myself in a position where I can get a period and be so embarrassed that I would look at the chair I had just got up from and ask my friends whether everything is okay. I could have to tie jackets around my waist and run across town to get sanitary towels. I never really thought about it. It is actually quite traumatising to be like this in a room full of people.We need to talk about this more when we talk about period poverty. We need to talk about the actual constant trauma that someone feels. It is not only about one individual. Let us imagine a mother has one, two, three, four or five daughters all at an age when they are not earning for themselves. The mother is not only buying sanitary products for herself but for her family of daughters. Prices and statistics have been given on how much sanitary products cost for an individual. The price could actually be doubled, tripled or quadrupled within a household that is already struggling to afford the basic necessities. One quote referred to €8,100 over the course of a person's lifetime. If we multiply that figure for a house full of girls, the figure would obviously be far more than that. We have to factor in pain relief as well. It is not only about the use of sanitary products but everything else that goes with it.

All the statistics have been given. The reasons this is so important have been given. I support the motion and I thank the two men who are here in the room to have the conversation. I would have preferred to see more male participation. Senator Lawlor has just arrived. He will say something inspirational in a moment.